Jay Dennard of Northside Hospital on Care and Prevention

Callie Boatwright: Broadcasting live from the Business Radiox studio, it's time for the GNFCC 400 Insider Connect, build and grow with the Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce. Hello, and welcome to, uh, the gnfcc400insider, the monthly radio show and podcast presented by the Greater North Fulton Chamber. I'm Callie Boatwright, president and CEO of the Chamber, and today we're joined by Jay Denard, president of Gwinnett Hospital System foundation and system vice president for governmental and community affairs at Northside Hospital, one of the largest healthcare providers and employers in our region. Today, we're going to talk about something that affects every business owner, executive and family in North Fulton. Healthcare prevention, access and costs. Jay, thank you for being here to talk about all things Northside.

Jay Denard: Thank you, Callie. It's truly a pleasure to be here today.

Callie Boatwright: Well, I am very eager to get started, but before we do that, I'm going to ask you to please tell our listeners just a little about yourself, maybe a little about your background and what led you to Northside and what you do there now.

Jay Denard: Thank you so much. Well, you know, there's some things that I enjoy talking about. First and foremost is my faith, my family, and Georgia Bulldogs. Northside Hospital kind of ties right in there with all of them, but I won't tell you which one.

Callie Boatwright: So the pecking order is coming. Got it. Okay.

Jay Denard: Uh, I've been a part of Northside since 2019 and am very fortunate to have the opportunity to work within the hospital on the operation side and then most recently, to be promoted to the system level for governmental and community affairs.

Callie Boatwright: Congratulations.

Jay Denard: Even though that's my title, uh, at the end of the day, my job is to work with the team to get a healthier Georgia in place.

Callie Boatwright: Well, I'm super excited about your role and your expanded role into North Fulton and being able to work together here. It's been. Been a delight so far. I can only imagine what the future holds. Um, as a hospital executive, as we've just discussed, you're surrounded, of course, by healthcare every single day. What do you think preventative health looks like in your life? And where do you see the biggest gap between what clinicians recommend and what working professionals in their 40s, 50s, and, hey, beyond actually end up doing?

Jay Denard: Not very far beyond, though, right?

Callie Boatwright: Uh, yeah, no, just a little.

Jay Denard: Well, you know, I wish I could say I practice what I preach. However, I think we're all still students and learning. I think at the end of the day, you know, by working at within a hospital, particularly north side, we get Variations of this question all the time.

Callie Boatwright: I can imagine.

Jay Denard: Um, so buckle in. I'm going to give you the secret. Here's the secret sauce to how you can make yourself healthier. First and foremost, we just need to focus on what we're eating. And growing up in the south, uh, especially Middle Georgia, that's a little hard for me at times. But we have to watch what we're putting into our body and focus more on those healthier foods like fruits and vegetables and more natural sources. You know, the other thing I would say it's all about to just moving. Be mobile. Get up. You know, all of us, particularly, uh, whether you are. Own your own business or work for a corporation, sometimes you get tired of your desk, you come in early in the morning, and the next thing you know it's time to go home. And you didn't even get up from your desk.

Callie Boatwright: Right. Yeah.

Jay Denard: So it's important that we be mobile, even if we are at work. Get up, walk around. Uh, if you have a meeting, uh, with a colleague, say, hey, let's walk around the block a little bit. Let's just get out and talk. So it's to stay mobile and to be busy, whether it's climbing stairs or, uh, when you get home in the evenings, first thing in the morning, get out and walk. But here is the true way to live longer. This is the secret.

Callie Boatwright: Oh, don't keep me waiting, sir.

Jay Denard: It is. Make sure that you get your annual preventative screenings and appointments with a physician. It is so important. You know, when we're younger, we think we're invincible. And then as we get older, we notice things maybe don't quite move as freely as they once did or the aches are a little bit stronger. So it's very important that we listen to our body and that we have a relationship with a primary care physician and, and that we get those annual visits whether we feel like we need it or not. It's important to do that on the front end so that things are caught early.

Callie Boatwright: Well, and I, um, think as a, um, busy executive you are in your life, obviously, uh, myself included. I think it's amazing what we don't get on the calendar when we should. So vegetables is one thing. I don't think fried oak or counselor. Right.

Jay Denard: Maybe on Sundays.

Callie Boatwright: Maybe on Sundays. Got it, got it. Um, but yes, I mean, we can eat well and exercise, but we need to catch things early, is your point. Right. So making sure that you're getting those things on your calendar and being intentional about them.

Jay Denard: Absolutely.

Callie Boatwright: Well, I Know that it's not just you and I. Many of our listeners are busy executives, business owners, professionals who are managing their teams, raising their families, and then, you know, trying to fit in. Maybe a little travel here and there. Whether it be for fun or for work, Trying to fit everything in is hard enough in an already packed schedule. So if someone is really wondering where to focus that energy, are there one or two or three preventative screenings or habits that. That really move the needle more than others? As a woman, I. I think a mammogram, like, in my head, that's absolutely. So I would assume that for men, it would be prostate check.

Jay Denard: That is high on the list as

Callie Boatwright: well as even, I'm guessing, so colorectal.

Jay Denard: You know, as a father, myself and as a husband, I've had to kind of recenter myself to recognize that for me to take care of my family, I have to take care of myself first. And sometimes we put others first. Whether that's understanding that we've got a job, commitment, we need to get accomplished, um, whether we need to look after our aging parents.

Callie Boatwright: That's right.

Jay Denard: Many of us have. We're also looking after our families. We. It's important that we also take care of ourself. And that's why I'll circle back and say, you know, um, the second most important relationship you will ever have outside of your spouse or significant other is with a primary care physician. It's important because as you establish that relationship, and just like it is with your spouse or significant other, you want to get it right.

Callie Boatwright: That's right.

Jay Denard: So you want to make sure that you're out there researching, looking at who in the community, and as you identify that primary care physician, which may not necessarily be close to home, it may be a little bit further away.

Callie Boatwright: Sure.

Jay Denard: Uh, it's important that you do that so that you can talk about your family history. It's important to understand because I'm also a big believer in genetics. It's important to understand what has impacted your parents or even your grandparents. And as you were indicating, mammograms are so important. What's been interesting to see in some of our data is that even younger women are seeing. We're seeing rises of incidences of breast cancer. So it's important to get that mammogram. The same is true in colorectal cancer. You mentioned prostate, which absolutely needs to be done, but colorectal actually as well. From the data, we've been able to see that more and more men are having colorectal cancer. Issues. So if you have established a relationship, that primary care physician, um, then you will be able to get those preventative screenings. So, again, that annual physical, that wellness check, which then listening to your body, if things are happening, discuss that with your physician and then say, you know, let's have those annual screening, colonoscopies, mammograms, Those things are so critically important, frankly, regardless of age.

Callie Boatwright: Right.

Jay Denard: It's important to have those.

Callie Boatwright: Absolutely. Well, and I think having that relationship, which I'm glad you circled back to that GP where you've got a relationship, but also an honest relationship, to be able to share those things and really identify. Right. From your parents, you mentioned, to aging parents. Uh, I'm in that situation, too. Last time I was home, I got out a list and made a list of everything. Because a lot of times we don't talk about that. Right. We don't know.

Jay Denard: Some things are just like, let's not

Callie Boatwright: talk about what's right. Yes, yes. We don't sit around a lot and talk about our latest colonoscopy. But I think that's incredibly important, though.

Jay Denard: Those drugs are pretty awesome.

Callie Boatwright: I'm just saying, I had mine last week, Jay. I'm, um, still riding high off that nap, so thank you for that. All right, well, let's talk about one of the most common and maybe frightening situations that people face. It's a weak night. Maybe something just doesn't feel right. Chest tightness or your child spikes, a high fever. Maybe somebody gets a deep cut and you're sitting there wondering, well, do we need stitches or do we not need stitches? Can you walk me through sort of that decision tree? How should people, People think about primary care versus urgent care versus going to the emergency room? Um, and how often do you see people really make the wrong call on that?

Jay Denard: Well, many times we do see the wrong call because the tendency is emergency. Sure. Because what's happening to you may not be an emergency in my eyes, but if it's happening to me or my loved one, it's an emergency.

Callie Boatwright: Well, we're terrified.

Jay Denard: We don't know totally.

Callie Boatwright: Right.

Jay Denard: We got. All of us all understand that the science of medicine. So it's important that I would always say that if it is life threatening, whether, you know, it is, um, a heart, you know, your heart. You're having chest pain.

Callie Boatwright: I was going to say pretty much anything chest related.

Jay Denard: You know, you're feeling that heaviness, you're feeling that aching down your arm, um, whether you're having some stroke symptoms, uh, slurred, talking um, vision may be going, um, severe bleeding. Obviously, if you've got, you know, you've, um, cut your finger while you're out, uh, weeding in the yard, done that. Personally, I can relate to that. And you see the blood is just, you know, won't stop. You definitely need to get to the emergency room. So I would say anything that's life threatening, difficulty breathing, call 91 1. Uh, it's important to call 911 or, or have someone drive you to the closest emergency department. But please do not drive yourself.

Callie Boatwright: Please tell me people don't drive themselves with chest pains to the emergency department.

Jay Denard: I wish I could tell you that they don't, but they do. And as we try to educate folks around that, but they say, well, by the time the ambulance gets here, I could be already at the hospital. That may be the case. However, let's remember two things. One, when the ambulance gets there, they can start treatment on you while you're en route to the emergency room. Especially with chest pain. We have the ability at Northside Hospital with our EMS partners to see what's going on. We see that strip, that read of what's happening with your heart monitoring. Um, I would also say that it's important to recognize that if you're driving, you may cause further harm to yourself or unfortunately to someone else. So please call 911 or have someone else drive you. That's for those life threatening events that are occurring if you require prompt attention. But it's not life threatening. Again, it's not life threatening. Maybe, you know, you've had a sprain, you've been on the pickleball court or

Callie Boatwright: been there, done that, you've got a

Jay Denard: fever, uh, just not feeling well. You know, there's some kind of illness going on. Um, but. And it can't really wait for a few days. Urgent care we have at, uh, the Northside Network have established many urgent cares around the community, especially in north Fulton, to have that one particular option for individuals. Because, let's face it, most of this happens on Friday nights and on the weekends.

Callie Boatwright: Why?

Jay Denard: Am I right?

Callie Boatwright: Why is this always the case?

Jay Denard: Always, Always. It amazes me when I get the phone calls on the weekend. Somebody says, hey, this is happening. Uh, what does the emergency room look like? What's the wait time? And I says, well, tell me what's going on. Even though I'm not a doctor. I know, is it life threatening?

Callie Boatwright: Right.

Jay Denard: Well, then let's consider urgent care. Um, so when do you go to your primary care? Well, that's where the Prevention. Prevention comes in. How do we do that? Preventative care, chronic disease management, questions around your medication. Um, ensuring that, you know, I've got concerns, just kind of ongoing about my health.

Callie Boatwright: Hm.

Jay Denard: That's where, if you've established that relationship, they've got to know you. They know your family history. That's where your primary care physician steps in. And then they can help guide you to specialist.

Callie Boatwright: Right.

Jay Denard: Should you need a specialist.

Callie Boatwright: Yeah. So that's like, for those of us who know that every time the season changes, I'm going to end up with a sinus infection, so I might as well just go ahead and make that appointment.

Jay Denard: It's just a regular occurrence and trying to heal thyself.

Callie Boatwright: Of course I do. Mothers and doctors. Right. I think we're probably the most guilty.

Jay Denard: Absolutely.

Callie Boatwright: Well, you mentioned the relationship with the GP again, and I completely understand that, and I think it's incredibly important. One concern that I think we hear more and more often, um, is that getting an appointment with a primary care physician sometimes can take a while. Right. Um, you hear the stories about, well, I can fit you in next week. You're like, well, either by next week, like it's over or like this is going to settle itself out somehow. When that happens, that's, I think, when people end up in urgent care or sometimes, er, for something that should have been handled completely elsewhere. To your point, from Northside's perspective, how is that primary care access evolving in north Fulton, and what investments or changes are really being made to show that. That growing demand.

Jay Denard: Well, we. We definitely are seeing nationwide, but particularly in this region, a shortage of primary care physician.

Callie Boatwright: Yeah.

Jay Denard: That's why Northside Hospital has strengthened its relationships with medical schools as well as in the Northside Gwinnett market. We have a graduate medical education program, and many hospitals have those because they've recognized the need that primary care, which is the portal of care, is that we don't have enough. I think also what I would encourage, you know, again, is you need to really, it's important to find the right primary care physician. And sometimes we have a tendency, we just want things quick and easy.

Callie Boatwright: Oh, uh, yeah. Right up the road. Right.

Jay Denard: Microwave generation, whatever you want to call that now, it's air fryer generation, I guess, but, um, it's. We want to have that closest to home, but, you know, that may not necessarily be the right fit for you.

Callie Boatwright: I hear you.

Jay Denard: So we have worked very aggressively, um, to build up and design here at Northside Hospital so that patients can move kind of seamlessly from primary Care to specialty care. We have a beautiful medical complex here in north Fulton, but also expanding that footprint across the region because we recognize that it's important to have care as close to home as possible. But in order to access within our network a tremendous amount of world class board certified mhm primary care physicians. It may be 20 minutes from home versus two minutes. Right. So we have really recognized that we have three goals when it comes to this concern. Access. Access. Access is to have that there is to have that access for individuals. And I believe that our physician network truly is second to none in Georgia because not only of the investment we've made in bricks and mortar, but also the investment we've made to ensure that we are either through employing or other types of arrangements to have primary care physicians in our network.

Callie Boatwright: Well, I know that that's where sort of the admission point would be for most individuals. And I think when we find a great gp, we get so excited and really want to do everything within that system. Right. To your, to your point. Um, but I mean I would certainly drive 30 minutes to be able to see somebody that is a perfect fit for me. Whether that's, you know, a number of age or female, ah, versus male or whatever that is. I think it's incredibly important to get that right so that you can get everything else right.

Jay Denard: I do that as well. I, um, literally my primary care physician is, same as you, is probably close to 30 minutes from my house.

Callie Boatwright: Yeah.

Jay Denard: But it's because I trust her, I have a relationship with her and she

Callie Boatwright: knows me and I think that's the most important thing. All right, well, we have, uh, belabored that point long enough. But I am glad to hear that Northside's really investing in making sure that that access, access, access is available for all. As we continue to grow, it's going to be a bigger problem. It just is naturally going to occur. Um, the other issue that we hear, of course, um, health care costs, uh, always one of the biggest concerns, um, certainly for the individual. But as an employer myself, um, you know, a big concern for employers. I hear from our business owners who are chamber members, um, every year when insurance renewal time comes around, um, I hear so many comments about making decisions that maybe are not great decisions about benefits and having to cut or increase, um, you know, deductibles to be able to make sure that they're able to cover healthcare expenses. Um, and of course that means that as those insurance costs go up, uh, there are increasing healthcare expenses for businesses. From your vantage point, which I understand of course, is at a hospital or in a medical system, what are the major structural drivers behind those health care cost increases? And where do you see opportunities for our hospitals, our insurers, and our employees and employers to work together more effectively to try and put some controls over this? I know it's. I mean, that's like the silver bullet question.

Jay Denard: So if I had that answer, I'd be a concerner.

Callie Boatwright: I know, and I know it's. There's got, you know, I always think, my gosh, there's got to be something or a tipping point at which, you know, we're like, we can't do this anymore.

Jay Denard: So I believe. Well, let's talk about the great news first.

Callie Boatwright: Okay.

Jay Denard: The great news is we're living longer.

Callie Boatwright: Oh, great point. That's right.

Jay Denard: Uh, through the advancements in modern medicine and the advancements of also people being aware of symptoms. And, you know, I look back on family members who passed away in the 70s who probably weren't listening to their body because they just didn't know. Right. Um, we are living longer, which is great news. That's fantastic. As we live longer, it can also get to a point, though, where caring gets a little more complex. And you know, what I mean by that is, um, we're seeing more growth in utilization of care because of the living longer, which is great, don't get me wrong. But because of those complexities of care, sometimes we have to run more tests, sometimes we have to have more images, Sometimes we have to, frankly, have more than one procedure. I saw someone leaving the hospital the other day, and I said, oh, you're back. Thank you. You're back seeing us. Thanks for funding the retirement. But frequent seriousness, though, the person had had stroke symptoms. Oh, my gosh, the week before and thank God, called 911 and was able to come to the emergency room and get taken care of in the time limit. But then when I saw her the other day coming back, she was having some tightness in her chest. So again, she had these chronic conditions that are, you know, are continuing to grow. I think the other thing too, though, is that we are seeing more, um, and more incidences, unfortunately, of obesity and, um, diabetes and, of course, heart disease. And so with that, that requires. Requires ongoing management as well as, you know, maintenance of those things for treatment. I think where the opportunity, from an employer perspective, and I see this within our own organization and my friends who run businesses or work for larger corporations, is that, again, prevention is a key. How do we develop incentives for our employees so that they can Go to their annual visits, get those early interventions but also be encouraged to do things around wellness. Not just the uh, body but also the mind. We see a huge amount of issues around mental and behavioral health. Having that well being in our um, in our businesses as well is important so that we can have preventative care and screenings again. Um, I think that um, as you access the right level of care at the right time that we talked about a moment ago, life threatening, not life threatening, um, over utilization of an urgent care will be cheaper than overutilization of an emergency room 100%. And so I think it's important, understanding, listening to my body, having those relationships, working closely with my employer. Mhm around. How do we come up with incentives to help people around lifestyle.

Callie Boatwright: And to your point, um, at the beginning of this, you know, healthy eating, exercise, those wellness pieces, mental health. Hadn't even thought about that when we started this conversation. Of course that's a significant part of health that affects your body. Right. Your mental state and how you see the world is going to mean the difference between whether you can get up and go exercise and feel good about doing that.

Jay Denard: The mind drives us 100%.

Callie Boatwright: Right.

Jay Denard: And I'll also point out dental health as well. No we, Northside Hospital, we have any dental practices but dental health is so crucial for overall body health.

Callie Boatwright: It is, I think that's incredibly important. And I think to your point, going back to your comment about you know, the cost of going to an urgent care versus an emergency room, um, um, cost. Right. So that cost, I think price transparency, being able to let people know um, as they're, as patients are coming. And we do that now, even within our insurance, it'll say hey, if you go to the emergency room and it was not an emergency and you are not admitted, you will be charged for that at best rates. So it does make people think about um, shopping. Right. And thinking about again if it's an emergency situation. I want to be very clear here. I was gonna say yes, this is, this is when you're not sure and it is not a life threatening situation. I think we're becoming, patients are becoming um, better at um, shopping for care and making informed decisions. But I think healthcare is like that big unknown. We just don't know about that. And I think Northside has done a good job um, really approaching sort of that transparency. Can you talk about how Northside approaches the transparency around the cost of care and maybe even just practical advice as you're planning for a procedure or a study or a test. Um, when I'm going to Northside to get my mammogram. I know when I get there, I get a call from a nurse ahead of time, which is excellent. So I know exactly what that's going to look like. Right. So how. Yes, that was a compliment.

Jay Denard: I was going to say, you can give me her name later.

Callie Boatwright: I will, I will. But that's. I think that's important. So how. How do you feel like you guys are doing on that transparency of the cost of care piece?

Jay Denard: Well, Northside was probably one of the earliest champions around price transparency, and we invest a lot of time and energy and other resources around Northside.com to make sure that we have the information that needs to be there that are relevant so that people can understand their financial responsibilities. You know, I think that for the best way for patients, again, is to sit down with their physician and have the conversation. Um, is this, you know, and preferably, it's a Northside physician, um, sitting with your north side physician to say, okay, are there alternative treatment options for what is being considered here? And is there a different setting that I should consider? Maybe it's an ambulatory surgery center versus the main or at the hospital. Um, are there other avenues that we could pursue for that? You know, clearly, we all know that health care is complicated, especially when it comes to cost. I'll never forget in graduate school, when I was getting my master's of health administration and I took healthcare economics, the economics professor said, everything you learned in your other economics class, just throw that out the window, is not, uh, you know, health care is so much more complex. And because there's so many factors that come into that. And let's just talk about insurance coverage, for example. There's so many different plans that exist, which I understand, but there's co pays, there's deductibles. Um, and really, you know, there are things that the doctor is just outside. It's outside the doctor's control.

Callie Boatwright: Sure. They should be doctoring. I agree.

Jay Denard: We want a doctor to practice medicine.

Callie Boatwright: I would like that.

Jay Denard: Yes, that would be nice.

Callie Boatwright: Right.

Jay Denard: So I, um, just encourage individuals to make sure they reach out to their insurance provider, have a discussion with them, but tap into a tremendous resource we have at Northside Hospital, and that is our financial counseling team. Have a conversation with them around a planned procedure. Again, this is an emergency, as you pointed out. Of course, it's a planned procedure, and say, okay, I have questions about this. They're there to listen. They're there to help guide you.

Callie Boatwright: I love this.

Jay Denard: And Again, to be transparent about what's going to be impacted by that. But let's be very clear. Don't let uncertainty prevent you from getting careful. Uh, I think there are people that have had to make choices along the way where they put. They couldn't get care because of financials. Yeah, we, we want to help everyone. We do not. We don't. Like, you know, don't let uncertainty come into the play.

Callie Boatwright: Right.

Jay Denard: We're here for everyone.

Callie Boatwright: I think that's a really good message, especially with as scary as. As healthcare can be. I think if you have a problem, you need to get it checked out.

Jay Denard: If you feel that small lump.

Callie Boatwright: Yes.

Jay Denard: Get it.

Callie Boatwright: 100%. 100%. I agree. 100%. Um, you know, healthcare in north Fulton, we're blessed. We talked about, you know, gps, maybe especially in rural communities, it's very, very difficult. But here in north Fulton, we're blessed because healthcare really is one of the largest employment sectors, and Northside plays a significant role in both our economy and our quality of life. So thank you for that. As the region continues to grow, because we're getting new residents, um, new economic expansion. We love making economic development announcements and infrastructure investments. I mean, look at SR 400 with all the infrastructure investment going into State Route 400. How. How does Northside think about workforce? It's gotta be difficult. You guys are a mammoth organization who is broken apart. Right. You have. You have locations all over. So it's not like people are just, you're able to, you know, fly them in every day and fly them out. Can you describe sort of the challenge of recruiting and retaining its physic? It's nurses, it's staff, it's healthcare professionals all over the community. Can you talk a little bit about the difficulty of that workforce piece?

Jay Denard: Oh, well, even though we do have the five hospitals across our system.

Callie Boatwright: That's right.

Jay Denard: Many, many ambulatory centers, like the phenomenal one we have here in north Fulton, where you can see primary care, specialty imaging, ambulatory surgery. Um, we love our relationship with the greater north Fulton chamber. Thank you for your leadership and what you have been able to do along with this community to really make north Fulton truly a place where people want to work, live and play. Uh, it's easy to recruit to north Fulton. People want to be here because not only do they see the benefits today, but they see what's coming in the future.

Callie Boatwright: True.

Jay Denard: When you look at over 36,000 employees across our system, um, physician recruitment can be a challenge just because of the numbers that are needed There are key specialties that are struggling across the whole country that are strong, but we are very fortunate, if I may brag a little bit, with the Northside brand. We are very fortunate to have that. We cherish our brand, we value that, we appreciate it, and we protect it. And we protect that by continuing to provide world class quality care. If you'll recently notice our focus around oncology and cancer. We're built to beat cancer. We are the number one treatment of mammography in the state. We treat more breast cancer than anyone else. The reason we're able to do that is because the people that we're able to attract to come work for us, and they do that because they want to be in communities where they're your neighbors. When you're at the grocery store or you're in line at school, you'll see someone in scrubs and hopefully with a Northside badge. Um, it's important that the people feel that they belong. And that is why, you know, many times I share with everyone, just because you're going to see someone who's a clinician, they can be kind of scary. That white coat can be a little scary. But do understand that more than likely, they are your neighbor. More than likely, um, their kids play soccer with your kid.

Callie Boatwright: Great point.

Jay Denard: And so it's very important that as we focus on the future, not only do we are very strong in beautiful buildings, um, bricks and mortar, but it's more about the people that are inside those buildings. Not only are they high, technically trained, but they're also doing it for the right reason. They want to help people. And we're very selective. We just don't hire anyone. We want people who are going to take care of patients as if they were taking care of our own family members.

Callie Boatwright: Well, you certainly have nailed that in my experience. Um, so kudos to that. I think it's. It's a challenge for everybody. It's not just health care, but when you have. Did you say 36,000 across the system?

Jay Denard: Yes.

Callie Boatwright: Goodness gracious. Well, when you have 36,000 employees, that makes it even 36.

Jay Denard: I hope I have that number right.

Callie Boatwright: Hey, it's. It's a big number. We know it's a big number, right?

Jay Denard: It is a big number.

Callie Boatwright: All right, Jay, I am going to ask you a last question. If you could put just one message in the hands of any. Every employer in our region, which is kind of what we do right at the chamber, something practical that they could implement tomorrow to improve the health of their workers, their workforce, and Create more predictable healthcare spending. What do you think that message would be?

Jay Denard: Well, I know that employers in this community see their employees the way we do. They're their greatest asset, 100%. And we invest in bricks and mortar. We insure our bricks and mortar. We also ensure a, uh, continuity of business. So let's also invest and insure our employees. And we do that through prevention. We do that through creating an environment where they aren't hesitant to go get that annual visit. They're not hesitant to participate in wellness initiatives, um, because healthy employees are more productive employees. So if we, as long as we encourage those annual wellness visits, uh, get their screenings, encourage that, promote physical, um, activity, have, um, softball teams, have bowling teams, have soccer tournament festivals and things of that nature, um, where that you can provide that support. But bottom line, it's about creating a culture where the workplace is safe, but it's also investing in them from a health perspective. I think that's key. And of course, go see a doctor, preferably a Northside hospital doctor, but go

Callie Boatwright: see a doctor, get you a gp. Right?

Jay Denard: Right.

Callie Boatwright: That's exactly what, uh, this. We started and ended basically on the same thing, which I. You can't say enough. Eat healthy, get out and move and find a good primary physician. 100%. Jay, thank you. Thanks for taking time to spend a little bit of it with me today. We appreciate all that you do here at the Greater North Fulton Chamber and really in the entire region. Northside is such a great community partner, and I am just excited to get to spend a, uh, little time with you, talking about that and celebrating that. If someone in our listening audience wants to get in touch with you to follow up, do you mind sharing your contact info?

Jay Denard: Not at all. I'm pleasure to do that. It's jay. J a y.denard d e n n a r d northside.com Perfect.

Callie Boatwright: And of course, you can go online anytime on Northside's website and get all of the information you could possibly need about all of the different physician offerings.

Jay Denard: Please do. Because, you know, people look to Northside for a lifetime of care, and we have an incredible website. Our marketing team has done a tremendous job with that. So please go do that.

Callie Boatwright: Indeed they have. Well, I also want to thank our listeners for joining us on the GNFCC 400 ins presented by the Greater Norfolk Chamber. To listen to this show again or to hear any of our previous episodes, you can always visit gnfcc400insider.com to find out more about the Greater Norfolton Chamber. Our events, our programs. Visit gnfcc.com until next time. I'm Callie Boatwright, and this has been gnfcc400insider on, um, north Fulton Business Radio. X.

Jay Denard: Don't.